In Brief:
- Neobank N26 plans to launch crypto trading services this year.
- Co-founder Max Tayenthal believes N26’s global expansion goals caused them to fall behind in crypto-related trends.
- N26 also plans to debut equities brokerage by the end of this year.
Max Tayenthal, Co-founder of neobank N26, stated that the institution is planning to launch crypto trading services in 2022.
Tayenthal believes the company’s ambition for a global expansion has caused it to fall behind in crypto and equities trading.
In an interview with Financial Times, Tayenthal admitted that the bank could have worked on many other things instead of “putting flags in new markets.”
N26 is a German online bank that expanded into the United Kingdom and the United States, with the primary purpose of attracting international customers.
The bank has exited from the U.K. market in 2020. In November 2021 it announced its exit from the U.S. market stating that N26 aims to increase its focus on European business.
N26 intends to launch a cryptocurrency trading service this year, followed by an equities brokerage.
Tayenthal added that because they hurried for an international expansion they might have missed out on crypto-related trends in the past few years.
“Should we have built trading and crypto instead of launching in the US? In hindsight, it might have been a smart idea”, Tayenthal added.
Tayenthal is optimistic that the company will be ready for a stock market listing by the end of the year but emphasizes that it is only one of the numerous choices available to the company and not a must.
